The Military History Society of NSW

Since before Federation, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands have occupied an important place is Australian strategic thinking. On the outbreak of war in 1914, Australia moved swiftly to secure the German possessions in the Bismarck Archipelago through the AN&MEF. In 1942, the ill-fated Lark Force was deployed to defend Rabaul. Following the Japanese seizure of Tulagi and Guadacanal, fierce battles were waged on land, at sea and in the air to recapture the Solomon Islands, Bougainville, and New Britain. More recently in the 2000s, Australian military forces were deployed to the Solomons for over a decade. After five years of ethnic tensions and a coup in 2000, the Solomons faced serious problems: law and order had broken down, corruption was widespread, the institutions of government had ceased to function, and basic services were not being delivered to the people. In response to a request from the Government of the Solomon Islands in 2003, the Regional Assistance Miss